Utilitarianism: Volume 26, Part 1: The Aggregation Question (Social Philosophy and Policy) - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0521756324 ISBN 13: 9780521756327

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2010

Synopsis

Utilitarianism and other aggregationist moral theories view the public interest or the general welfare as an aggregate of individual goods. But critics of these theories question whether there is adequate justification for employing the concept of an aggregate social good. How are we supposed to sum up individual interests? Is it even possible to compare the utilities of different people or to assign values to individual utilities that can be added or subtracted? If not, how is the general good to be aggregated? Critics have also raised concerns about the aggregative approach in ethics--concerns about its implications for distributive justice, individual liberty, and democratic institutions. The essays in this volume explore these issues and address related questions. Some of them examine specific objections to aggregation, others analyze the very idea of a social good or social welfare. Other essays discuss the application of aggregative principles to particular problems.

About this title

Book Description

Utilitarianism and other aggregationist moral theories view the public interest or the general welfare as an aggregate of individual goods. But critics of these theories question whether there is adequate justification for employing the concept of an aggregate social good. The essays in this volume explore these issues.

Edition details

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 2010
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0521756324
• ISBN 13: 9780521756327
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 404
• Editor: Paul Ellen Frankel, Miller Jr Fred D., Paul Jeffrey